


Show me you're real

by clockworkgraystairs



Category: The Folk of the Air - Holly Black
Genre: Also kinda angsty, F/M, They Love Each Other OK, but hey! jurdan smut!, her husband is more than willing to make her feel better, i don't even remember what the prompt was about, jude has nightmares, jurdan nsfw, this came out as a tumblr prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-03
Updated: 2020-04-03
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:33:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23466184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clockworkgraystairs/pseuds/clockworkgraystairs
Summary: From a chapter of Scheming great schemes:"More than once Cardan had woken her up from some bad dreams, usually ones in which he didn’t return after Jude cut off the snake’s head.  It always left her pale and shaky. Sometimes it happened the other way around, but they always found comfort in each other’s arms."
Relationships: Jude Duarte/Cardan Greenbriar
Comments: 6
Kudos: 239
Collections: favorite on TFOTA





	Show me you're real

_He was gone. Cardan. Her husband. Gone. It was her fault._

_She'd cut the snake’s head off. Because she had to._

_Because there was no way on earth she could’ve let Cardan live trapped like that forever, in snake form, with that bridle tied to her. Prisoner._

_So she had decided to free him the only way she could. By killing him._

_Jude knew that if Cardan could talk to her he’d tell her the same thing. To destroy him instead of letting him be a threat to Elfhame, to their people. He would have told her that it was the right thing to do. And that she shouldn’t feel guilty._

_But as the snake’s head fell to the ground, so did she. She fell to her knees watching the body slowly turn smaller and smaller. Until it took the size and form of a man. A beheaded man._

_White noise rang inside her head._

_There would not be more clever riddles from him. No more mischievous winks across the table. No more soft hands tracing her skin while he whispered her name over and over to her ear._

_She felt tears rolling down her face and let out a cry of pure rage and despair._

_Cardan was gone. And it was her fault._

Jude jolted awake, still smelling the scent of blood in her nose. Real tears covered her cheeks but she quickly wiped them away as she tried to figure out where she was. 

A dim fire was dying in the fireplace in front of the bed, barely allowing her to examine the furniture around. At some point she realized that she was in the royal chambers. 

Suddenly, she became aware of a sleeping form beside her. 

Cardan laid there, next to her. Sprawled on his back, one hand behind his head and the other one extended to his side, as if reaching for her. His hair a black mess of curls that pointed in every direction. He breathed slow through his slightly parted mouth, his bare chest moving up and down calm as ever. Jude took him in completely, from his hair to his hip where it disappeared underneath the sheets. 

He was alive, and safe. She let out a trembling relieved sigh.

Without really thinking about it, she laid back down closer to him. Softly, she cupped his cheek with her hand, Cardan unconsciously leaning into the touch. He mumbled something in his sleep but didn’t wake. 

Jude hesitated before pressing her lips over his, barely touching them. Then she did it again. And again, before taking her kisses to his jaw and down his neck. She sucked a little at the hollow of his throat, he shifted and made a little noise. The tip of his tail gave a small swing. 

It was common for her to have nightmares, but the ones that ended with him gone were by far the worst. She always needed some kind of anchor that tied her to what was real, to this. To him.

Her kisses grew insistent, not caring anymore about being careful. She wanted him awake, she wanted Cardan to look at her and show her he was real. That he wasn’t going to disappear. 

Jude lowered her hand, caressing his arm, his chest… when she reached the soft patch of hair at his abdomen she felt his hips shift. Her name left his lips in a whisper.  
She lifted her gaze and found Cardan looking at her through hooded eyes, barely awake. The dim fire made the angles of his face stand out, he was so beautiful. 

He opened his mouth to say something, but before he could make it her lips crashed on his with a gasp.

In a second, he had his arm around her waist pulling her closer. The heat of his skin passed through her nightgown as if the fabric didn’t exist. She could feel something soft coiling possessively around her calf.

She kissed him hard, almost desperately until Cardan pulled back an inch to take a careful look at her eyes. Whatever he saw there made him frown. It was rare for Jude to just drop her walls like that, they both knew it. She didn’t care.

“My love, are you…” He traced her jaw with the hand that was not holding her waist. Something must have flickered in her face because his expression softened. “Oh Jude.”

His tone released something within her. Jude felt her eyes sting and immediately hid her face in Cardan’s neck. He held her, making soothing noises as the first sob ripped through her body. Then another one. 

“It’s alright, I am here, it’s alright.” He repeated, stroking her back.

Jude took a recovery breath and whispered. “I’m sorry, I just-” She paused, trying to put her mind back in order. “It felt so real.”

Cardan didn’t need to ask what she’d dreamed about. Whenever it had this effect on her it meant the dream was about him. Lost, dead. 

His gaze captured hers, firmly. “Do not ever apologize for how you feel, Jude. Ever.”

She nodded, biting her lip and said nothing. Her lashes still brimmed with tears.

“What do you need, my love?” Cardan asked softly. “Tell me how to help you.”

Her eyes lowered to his lips and then returned up. “I-” She hesitated. “I need... to feel that you are real. That you are not some other dream that will vanish at any moment.” 

The corner of his lip quirked up as he kissed her, slow and easy. He took one of her wrists and placed her hand over his chest. His steady pulse beating underneath her fingers. 

“I am here.” He said again, this time with a guttural voice that sent a shiver down her spine. “Feel me.” 

Jude opened for him and Cardan kissed her deeper, his tongue invading her mouth. He tugged her thin nightgown until he could fully remove it. And once again he let his hands roam her skin. Less carefully this time.

She could feel him growing against her lower abdomen and she rocked her hips against his just a little. He groaned and turned until Jude laid on her back and he could settle between her thighs. Then lowered his mouth to her throat leaving hungry kisses on his way. She tilted her head back for him, her hands tangling in his dark curls. 

Her heartbeat pounded in her chest. Cardan was all around her, the only thing she could think of was of his lips nipping at her skin, sending little shocks of pleasure through her every time; his hands leaving fire trails whenever they passed, gripping her hips so hard she would probably find bruises in the morning; the soft fur of his tail along her legs. _He’s alive, he’s here. Wasn’t he?_

Cardan kept going down until he could reach her breasts, taking a quick glance up at her while licking one of her nipples and then sucking it. Hard. A low moan escaped her mouth as she arched, feeling the muscles of her abdomen tighten. He let go of her nipple and moved to the other, repeating his ministrations. His hips kept rocking against her. Jude’s breath was ragged. 

“Was that real enough for you my Queen?” His eyes dark and teasing. One of his hands slipped down, grabbing her thigh. 

“Almost, you are on the right path.” She huffed, trying to tease him back. Not very effectively since she barely managed to form any word.  
The way he grinned at her made her toes curl in anticipation.

“Is that so.” Without warning the hand on her thigh moved to cup the heat between her legs, making her gasp. Sound that turned into a whimper as two of his fingers plunged into her. “And this? Does it feel real?”

He curled his fingers to graze that sensitive spot in her, causing her hips to buck. 

“Tell me Jude, how does this feel?” He whispered against her lips, his hand still moving at a slow torturing pace. 

“Good… it feels so good.” She panted. She tried to rub herself harder against him but he removed his fingers, pulling a protest sound from her. His hand pressed her hip so she wouldn’t move.

“Look at me.” He commanded in a hoarse voice. Jude obliged. The moment their eyes met Cardan slid fully into her in a lingering thrust. She moaned but the sound was muffled by his lips devouring hers. Her skin felt febrile, sweaty against his. 

His hips remained still for a moment, letting Jude feel how he filled her in the most delicious way. She caressed his back passing over the faint scars, her other hand still tangled in his hair. 

“I love you,” She sighed. “I love you so much I can’t stand the thought of losing you.”

Cardan’s eyes were full of such devotion it took her breath away. “You are not losing me Jude, I am here. And I love you.” At that, he started to move. His thrusts had the same slow anguished pace as his hands before, still every time he bottomed out there was an extra push that made her gasp every time.

Time slowed, and Jude didn’t know or care how much had passed. Her mind could only focus on Cardan, on his hands holding her firmly against him, on the softness of his lips, his tail tugging at her thigh, on the little sounds he made on the back of his throat each time he entered her. He was here. He would not disappear. 

His pace grew a bit more desperate as Jude’s breaths started to change, her body clenching around him. He brought the hand that held her waist down lower and started rubbing that spot that made her fall over the edge in a matter of seconds. He didn’t stop there, and kept going until Jude thrashed in his arms and cried out again. 

The force of her second orgasm took him with her, letting his head fall to her neck and chanting her name over and over while the spasms passed.  
Cardan didn’t let go of her after that, nor did she want him to. He cupped her face with one hand, both of them whispering little nothings between kisses as they came down from their high. 

“I think I’m ready to go back to sleep.” Jude murmured. There were still several hours before they needed to get up. “I wouldn’t want for you, my King, to fall asleep at the Council meeting.”

He snorted, his voice already drowsy. “You say that as if I wouldn’t already. I can sleep for two full days and still would.”

Cardan rolled on his back, taking Jude with him so she could lay on his chest. She took a deep breath. His scent always helped her feel safe. Home. A finger on her chin made Jude lift her gaze to him. “Are you sure you are ok now, love?”

She nodded and smiled. “I am. Thank you...”

He kissed her forehead and held her tighter before closing his eyes again, but Jude kept looking at him until his breathing evened. 

As she started to drift back to sleep, she focused one more time on his touch around her. He was there. He was real.

And he loved her.

**Author's Note:**

> If there's any grammatical error please feel free to tell me. English is not my first language.
> 
> I hope you enjoy!!  
> Also, I LOVE comments *wink*


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